Together for Good: Building Communities Alongside the Buildings We Design

Whether we’re creating or revamping the buildings in which people live, work, get healthy, or go to school, at its core, our job as designers is to improve communities and the lives of the people within them. Since our early days, Hord Coplan Macht has been committed to taking that one step further through our volunteer work. Organized by our Social Responsibility Committee, we participate in coordinated volunteer efforts in all three HCM office locations year-round.

Here is just a snippet of how the Social Responsibility Committee and our generous volunteers give back:

Green Apple Day of Service

Green Apple Day of Service is a day committed to transforming schools through green initiatives. Both our Baltimore and Denver offices have participated for many years.

The Baltimore office at Baltimore City College.

The Denver office built an outdoor classroom for an elementary school.

Pumpkin Carving Contest

Volunteers from our Denver office volunteered at a pumpkin carving contest with foster children from Mount Saint Vincent.

Project Clean Stream

A statewide effort to clean up the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, Project Clean Stream is near and dear to the hearts of our Baltimore staff – which is why this was our 8th year supporting the program.

HCM Day of Giving

Last year was HCM’s 40th anniversary and in honor of that milestone, we launched an inaugural Day of Giving, a matching donation program that supports a selection of charities in all three office locations. For every donation to a pre-selected charity, HCM donated $40 in honor of the milestone year. In total, we raised over $17,000.

Alexandria Office

Denver Office

“At HCM, we really believe that community service is a responsibility,” said Julie Higgins, a Principal of HCM’s Landscape Architecture studio and Social Responsibility Committee member.

Lisa Gardner, a Senior Associate in HCM’s Denver office and also a Social Responsibility Committee member, agrees. “Giving back to the community is a huge mission of the firm. Every day, we work to design buildings that serve and enhance communities through schools, senior living facilities, etc. and our community service efforts are on par with that mission. It’s all about being a good steward to your community.” And it’s not just something that HCM supports as an idea – many of our community service projects occur during work hours, something that the firm fully supports.

“We have a variety of different volunteer opportunities so that everyone can participate,” Julie said. “We have some on Saturdays so families can participate, some after work hours for those who are interested in that, and others are during the workday and fully supported by the firm.”

Volunteer work also isn’t just a box we strive to check off; it’s an integral part of our culture at all of our offices.

“Our volunteer work is very important to HCMers, Maureen Wiechert from our Alexandria office said. “It creates a feeling of comradery and teamwork.”

“When we talk about what the staff likes about what we do as a culture, our volunteer work always comes up as something people love about working here,” Lisa reiterated.

With values and a culture that supports and encourages volunteer work from all of our staff, HCM is truly committed to giving back to the communities we serve every single day. Sound like a mission you can get behind? We’re hiring.